David Legwand's legacy with Nashville Predators still to be determined

Tennessean | Mar 6

His face has scars and crow’s feet. He talks about his two children, Ryder and Ella, with beaming fatherly pride.

After almost 15 years with the Predators, David Legwand is clearly no longer a kid. He’s also no longer the young speedster they drafted second overall in 1998, the first-ever pick for a franchise in need of a building-block player.

Sitting on a couch in a California hotel lobby, Legwand, who has seven points in 23 games for the offensively struggling Predators this season, is asked what type of hockey player he is. Quickly and almost abruptly he says, “well-rounded.”

Although his NHL career has been marked with flashes of talent and what-ifs, the 32-year-old Legwand has settled into the role of two-way centerman with offensive upside.

He might never score 50 goals like he did as a junior with the Plymouth Whalers, but he still plays nearly 19 minutes per night, has a role on the penalty kill and power play, and is often on the ice at the end of close games.

“Maybe his career is going to be defined by consistency and longevity, rather than the guy who scored 40 or 50 goals,” general manager David Poile said. “Maybe it will be defined by the fact that he’s a ‘Predators’ type of player that gives us a chance to win because he can play many different roles on the hockey club.”

But when Legwand uses his speed, skates down the wing, beats a defender wide and uncorks a hard wrist shot that fools a goaltender, he makes even the most hardened hockey observers pause.

“He can be as good as he wants to be, really,” coach Barry Trotz said.